Paying Respects
by ArtsyChick
Summary: "You've got me..." A teacher and student bond over the loss of loved ones.


**A/N: **I've had this idea for a couple years and finally got around to writing it. Enjoy!

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><p>Carrying a bouquet of chrysanthemums, Naruto meandered his way to Training Ground 3. When the KIA Shinobi Memorial finally came into view, he saw someone standing beside it.<p>

"What are you doing here, Kakashi-sensei?"

At the sound of his name, the jounin turned with a bemused expression. Once his eyes alighted on his student, his eye crinkled up as he smiled. "Yo," he said, raising his hand in a solemn wave. "Here for your father?"

"How'd you know?" he asked, jogging to his teacher.

"Because you don't know anyone else who's died." Kakashi looked back at the monument. "And they haven't added Jiraiya-sama's name yet."

Naruto nodded. "I figured that, since I know who he is now, I might as well pay my respects to him." Bending down, he laid the bouquet at the base of the monument. "Where's his name?"

Kakashi knelt down and thumbed a set of characters in the middle of the statue. "Your mother's is right next to it," he continued, pointing at the next name.

Naruto's eyes devoured the two names engraved beside each other. "Namikaze Minato," he read quietly, "and Uzumaki Kushina." Stretching out a hand, he outlined his parents' names with his fingertip. Although he was still celebrated as one of the most heroic shinobi in the village and his face had been chiseled into the side of a mountain for as long as Naruto could remember, the Fourth Hokage had always seemed like more of a legend than a real person. But here was proof his parents had once existed and it was almost like he was touching a piece of them.

"Sensei," he began, "what were they like?"

"They were wonderful people," he replied. "Intelligent, respected, well-liked. Minato-sensei was a hero even before he died. And your mother…" He paused. "Your mother was very beautiful."

Naruto grinned. "Don't tell me you were in love with my mom, Kakashi-sensei."

"Everyone had a crush on Kushina-san, Naruto," he chuckled.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Glancing up at Kakashi, Naruto asked, "Who're you here for, sensei?"

Sighing, Kakashi reached out and let his fingers linger on a name much higher than the Yondaime's. "Did you know," he said softly, "that I am the sole survivor of my former team?" Naruto stared as his hand drifted downward, glanced over the Fourth's name, and slid across a third. "Their names are carved here because I wasn't able to protect them."

Turning back to the statue, Naruto's eyes scanned the stone for the names his teacher touched. "Uchiha Obito," he read aloud. "You were on a team with an Uchiha?"

"Yes, a long time ago." He glanced at him. "You're a lot like him, you know."

Naruto's chest puffed out. "Like skill-wise?"

"No, personality-wise." He shook his head. "I will never understand how either of you managed to pass all your civilian classes. Even Trigonometry was hard for me when I was eight."

Naruto hadn't even _taken _Trigonometry; he'd barely passed Algebra. "You're starting to sound like Sakura-chan," he grumbled.

"I _was _a child prodigy."

Tired of comparing himself to his—he hated to admit it—genius instructor, Naruto said, "So what happened to him?"

Kakashi's head dipped again. "He died saving me," he whispered, "when it should've been the other way around."

They were silent for a moment, Naruto lost in thought and Kakashi dwelling in regret. "And your other teammate?" he ventured.

"I made a miscalculation. She died because of it."

He frowned. "How often do you come here?"

Kakashi looked down, his hand dropping back to his side. "Every morning."

"Why?"

He sighed. "To reconcile with my past," he explained. "And to repent. My name should be on that statue, not theirs. They died because of my mistakes, so now I have no one."

Clapping a hand to his teacher's shoulder, Naruto grinned. "You've got me," he said. "And Sakura-chan and Sai and Captain Yamato. We're your friends, sensei."

Lifting his head, Kakashi's solitary charcoal eye met his student's brilliant blue ones, but Naruto was unable to read his expression. _So much like Minato-sensei's… _"Thank you, Naruto."

His grin broadened. "For what?"

"Nothing." Suddenly he rose to his feet and Naruto clambered up to join him. Patting him on the shoulder, Kakashi smiled. "Are you hungry? We can go to Ichiraku."

"All right!" he exclaimed, pumping his fist. "Your treat, right sensei?"

He grinned. "Of course."

But when the bill came, Kakashi had conveniently vanished. Tucked beneath his bowl was a short note:

_Naruto,_

_Thanks for listening today. I don't think I've told you recently, but you've always been my favorite student._

_-Kakashi_

_P.S. Perhaps you can cover the bill this time. I think one of my dogs ate my wallet.  
><em>

Later, when he told Sakura what their teacher had said and how he ended up paying for lunch, she rolled her eyes and informed him that Kakashi always said _she _was his favorite student whenever they went to lunch in order to pawn the bill off on her. Slapping his forehead, Naruto groaned. He had been duped by his sweet-talking teacher into forking over his hard-earned wages for food. Again.

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><p><strong>AN: **I was reading chapter 321 and Kakashi tricks Yamato into paying for lunch ;p I imagined he would try (and succeed) to do the same to Naruto.


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